Civil Servant in Romance Fantasy - Chapter 318

Chapter 318: Let's Get Some Fresh Air (1)

The Imperial Academy underwent significant changes after Robens Academy’s visit.

First, the proportion of the student body occupying the training grounds shifted heavily in favor of the swordsmanship department. Of course, I had cut the sky before Robens Academy’s visit, but the students only saw the result of the sky being split back then, not the process of me swinging the sword.

This time, however, the students who flocked after hearing rumors witnessed the entire process, making them believe that a human had indeed cut the sky.

As a result, students filled with competitive spirit practically lived in the training grounds, while the magic department students, pushed out by the frenzied swordsmanship students, had no choice but to retreat to the library while cursing all the way.

“Good day, Executive Manager.”

“Oh, yes.”

“Executive Manager! Good morning!”

“Ah, yes. Good morning.”

Respect and admiration seemed to spread alongside ambition, as the number of students greeting me skyrocketed. Needless to say, over 90% of these students were from the swordsmanship department.

It was an utterly unfamiliar situation. In the past, the students usually observed me from a distance or approached me indirectly through Erich even when I occasionally attracted their attention. Now, students popped up like random encounters to talk to me.

Thankfully, eye contact didn’t immediately trigger duels, but as someone who had always avoided unnecessary interaction with students, this new attention was overwhelming. When civilians approached excessively, it was civil servants who ended up suffering from nervous exhaustion.

I can’t push them away, either.

I could at least avoid them if they were malicious civilians, but these were innocent students, full of pure admiration, and were approaching with nothing but respect in their eyes. Even aside from managing my reputation, my conscience wouldn’t allow it.

— Isn’t it good to be popular? I think you’ll inspire more students to want to join the Prosecutors’ Office, Executive Manager.

“Are you a genius?”

I received an unexpected response when I contacted the 1st Manager with such complaints.

Come to think of it, she was right. If I became an object of admiration, new civil servants would flock in without any effort on my part. Just look at the Magic Tower—it was overflowing with mages enchanted by the Mage Duchess. The Prosecutors’ Office could easily follow the same path.

Auto-recruitment.

I felt like shedding tears of joy. Manpower that gathered on its own without me having to go around handing out recommendation letters was a miracle I didn’t dare dream of.

— It’ll be easier from now on. Usually, only those with considerable ambition or the crazy ones joined the Prosecutor’s Office.

“Did you really have to say that to my face?”

— But it’s true, so what can I do?

The 1st Manager pouted as if asking why I was scolding her. I felt like pinching her cheek right away, but sadly, she had a point.

While the Prosecutor’s Office’s role and authority were considerable, the corresponding workload and responsibility made it a place difficult to enter unless they were consumed by the desire for promotions or just plain crazy. This was especially true after I became the Executive Manager and caused quite a stir.

Some people tested the waters by briefly joining to pad their résumés, but very few stayed long enough to leave their mark. The moment someone showed promise, they were off to greener pastures in another department.

Those bastards.

Like Leaf Village ninjas, they ghosted as soon as we had invested in training them. One of the measures we took to prevent this exodus was the recommendation letter system.

Of course, the primary role of recommendation letters was to discover talent others might have missed, but frankly, it was also a kind of branding. If someone joined the Prosecutors’ Office with my recommendation and later tried to defect to another department, they’d need a pretty thick skin to live with the shame.

— By the way, Executive Manager.

“Yes?”

As I was imagining a happy future where people would commit to the department without recommendation letters, the 1st Manager cautiously spoke up.

— You’re really okay, right?

I couldn’t help but smile at her rare, careful question. She knew the situation to some extent, so I guess she was worried too.

“I’m fine. Do you think Beatrix would’ve stayed quiet if something had gone wrong?”

— Well, that’s true.

Genuinely convinced, the anxiety and worry that had lingered on the 1st Manager’s face instantly disappeared.

The senior staff, including the 1st Manager, knew about Kagan’s stab wound on my body. It wasn’t exactly something to boast about, so I didn’t show it to them directly, but I did go for treatment several times right after becoming the Prosecutors’ Office’s Executive Manager.

An Executive Manager who consistently went for treatment even while busy dealing with internal opposition and the Second Prince’s faction... Even the most oblivious person would think, ‘Ah, this guy’s injury is no ordinary wound.’

So when such a person suddenly started tearing the sky apart, concerns were bound to rise.

“Well, what is there to worry about with the future saint and the continent’s best mage around?”

— Honestly, it does seem safer than the capital.

“Exactly.”

In a place defended by the ultimate holy spell user and the pinnacle of magic, the only way to receive an ‘unrecoverable’ diagnosis was to die instantly. And with Kagan in the afterlife, who could send me there in one blow? Even Dorgon couldn’t do that.

— Still, please tell us in advance next time. We were really surprised when we suddenly heard you had cut the sky.

At those words, I silently looked at the 1st Manager. Despite her attempt to appear cheerful, I could sense the bitterness and hurt hidden beneath.

It was understandable. From the 1st Manager’s perspective, of course she’d feel hurt. Hearing about your lover’s potential injury through rumors rather than from the person themselves would make anyone feel slighted.

That was my mistake. With the final boss beside me who could overturn everything with magic if I made a wrong move, I didn’t even think about the 1st Manager, who was in the capital.

“I’m sorry. I’ll tell you right away from now on.”

— As long as you understand.

I smiled gently at the 1st Manager’s exaggerated snort.

“There won’t be any ‘So there was someone like that—‘ situations...”

— No! Why do you remember things like that so well?!

Who could forget something like that? If someone did, they’d be the strange one.

Anyway, I ended the call by asking her to pass on my regards to the 4th Manager if they came in touch. The 4th Manager seemed to have gone north already as I couldn’t reach her. If only Dorgon would die quickly so that the 4th Manager could get some rest.

***

As the Crown Prince said, the Principal took charge of managing the guests who came to the academy. My role ended with cutting the sky, and besides, it wouldn’t be appropriate for an inspector to entertain guests.

Meanwhile, Robens Academy seemed to be engaging in various activities for their study visit, but in such cases, the head instructor of the swordsmanship department handled it smoothly. Since the Vice Principal of Robens Academy was from a rival faction, he dealt with it enthusiastically. He seemed to have the highest job satisfaction, so I let it be.

“Mar, I’m here.”

And while the Principal and head instructor were fulfilling their roles, I was practically rooted in the student council room.

Word had apparently spread among the Robens Academy students that I was often found in the clubroom, as some brave souls even came there. To protect my precious little free time, I needed to find a suitable place to hide. Disturbing an off-duty civil servant was a crime.

“Welcome. Are you running away again today?”

“Running away? I came because I wanted to see you, Mar.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, at least.”

I felt embarrassed after seeing Marghetta’s smile. Of course, I visited her every day even before being hounded by students, but now I was staying longer than before. She must have known from the start that I came to hide.

“I heard the Robens Academy students will be returning to their homeland soon. The academy is going to feel empty again.”

The subtle glint in her eyes as she spoke made it clear: she was implying how much she’d miss me staying here as often once the Robens students were gone. It was an unmistakable, gentle pressure.

“How can it be empty when the people who weren’t here originally are just going back? The people who are here will be enough.”

“Fufu, I suppose so.”

With such obvious hints, I had no choice but to promise to keep showing up. Looks like the student council president’s office is going to become my second clubroom now...

Besides, while this was Marghetta’s last year, I still had to be at the academy for another year. We would have to spend a year apart, so we should stick together as much as possible this year.

...Do we have to live separately even after getting married?

Now that I thought about it, something felt off. We were planning to get married when Marghetta graduated, but I, the groom, still had to stay at the academy... That didn’t seem right.

Next year, I’d either have to hire a teleportation mage to commute daily or find a way for Marghetta to stay at the academy. Becoming a goose dad right after marriage didn’t sit well with me.

If worst comes to worst, I’ll have to sign a one-year contract.

If I couldn’t find a good solution no matter how hard I looked, then I’d just hire a mage. It wasn’t like I’d had much time to spend the gold piling up in my vault. I might as well put it to good use—make the money circulate and all that.

***

Betrayals come without warning—that was why they were called betrayals.

“Oh, Carl? Can you take a look at this for a moment?”

“Huh?”

The Vice President quietly entered the student council room, handed a stack of documents to Marghetta, and disappeared. Marghetta stared at the sudden pile of paperwork with a resigned look before she began flipping through it. Shortly after, she called out to me with an awkward tone.

It was strange. Last year, she often asked me to help with student council work, but honestly, that was just an excuse to spend time with me. Now that we were officially a couple, there was no need for such pretenses.

Yet she called me? It must mean that something bizarre and troublesome had happened.

“What’s the matter?”

So, pushing back my unease, I approached Marghetta, and she showed me the documents she was holding—

“Carl. You can’t see it if you close your eyes.”

“Just let me stay like this for a moment.”

The moment my eyes caught the familiar words on the document, I instinctively shut them tight.

Damn it.

I saw it. I saw it all.

A familiar sentence was engraved in the document, words so unfathomable that it made me wonder why they were appearing at the academy now of all times.

“It’s a document about this year’s school trip.”

When I closed my eyes, Marghetta kindly started explaining the contents.

No, you don’t have to. I’m not ready to hear this yet.

“We were planning to go to the Boyar Duchy again like last year, but it looks like we’ll have to revise the plan.”

“Yes... I see.”

But closing my eyes and covering my ears wouldn’t undo what had already happened.

“From the Boyar Duchy to the Cheness Duchy. I wonder if it’ll be Wulken next year?”

I couldn’t bring myself to speak even though Marghetta was even making jokes.

The Cheness Duchy, a region in the western empire ruled by the Salon ducal family.

And the current head of the Salon ducal family and Duchess of Cheness was—

“Caaaaarrrlll!!! Long time no see!!”

The Drunkard Duchess, I mean, the Wise Duchess.

This was driving me crazy. I hadn’t even seen her yet, but I could already picture her enthusiastically waving a wine bottle while shouting my name.

Get out of my head right now, Drunkard /genesisforsaken

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